Costs for outage at Ridgewood facility keep rising

A power outage occurred on New Year's Eve at the village's water pollution control plant.

The previously approved spending plan created for emergency repairs at Ridgewood's water pollution control plant has ballooned to nearly $24,000 - rising almost $9,000 above the costs that were estimated in January. The increasing price tag as well as discrepancies in vendor invoicing have drawn recent criticism from members of the Village Council as well as local taxpayers.

Top public works officials said a backup generator at the facility had been damaged and failed to start during a widespread power outage on New Year's Eve. As a result, personnel manually diverted the incoming water flow to a primary clarifier, where it was held.

According to plant officials, power was restored moments before the untreated sewage would have been released into the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook.

Chris Rutishauser, Ridgewood engineer and head of the village's public works operations, reported at the Jan. 8 council meeting that electricians conducted site work on New Year's Day and continued tasks throughout that week. At the meeting, Rutishauser requested a $15,000 budget to cover the electricians' bills.

On Jan. 15, council members unanimously passed the budget and contract with Nickl Electric.

But last week, acting Village Manager Heather Mailander presented invoices filed by machinery dealer Foley Inc., which also worked at the plant during the days following the power failure. In addition to labor costs, Mailander told council members that expenses payable to Foley cover a new emergency generator described as "the largest diesel system owned and operated by the village." She added that Foley's four work orders amount to $8,600.

Noting the lack of information contained in each invoice, Councilman Tom Riche last week requested that representatives from the engineering department provide details on Foley's work. In addition, at least one resident inquired about Ridgewood's ability to regularly test generators with hopes of avoiding future failures and emergency spending.

"The water department has generators. There's one [at Village Hall]. Are we going to get a $23,000 bill the next time there's a power failure because we're not testing these things?" said resident Boyd Loving. "There are corporations throughout the state of New Jersey that have data centers, there are municipalities in the state of New Jersey that have police departments and fire departments that are testing generators on a regular basis."

Rutishauser previously told council members that regulations established by the Department of Environmental Protection limited the village's ability to test the generator at the water pollution plant. This week, Mailander, quoting information from the engineering department, added that the DEP requires various air quality tests for generators as tall as the one installed at the water pollution plant. Permission from the DEP is mandatory before the village can test the generator, she said.

In addition, an injury to an employee reduced the plant staff in August, when officials planned a generator test.

"Because of the lower staff levels, we could not test as it should have been," Mailander said.

She added that generators at other municipal locations are tested routinely by the village's fleet maintenance mechanics. The smaller size of those generators allows Ridgewood to check the equipment regularly.

Riche voiced frustration after learning that additional invoice information from Foley Inc. was still pending Wednesday night, and said the fact that the village was unable to test the generators is "not excusable."

He recommended that Ridgewood consider contracting an outside vendor to conduct generator tests or solicit bids for the anticipated charges of those services to avoid hefty and unexpected bills in the future.

"Paying $24,000 to fix something because of neglect is kind of outrageous," he said.